Tree bast fiber and method for processing tree bast

ABSTRACT

Taught is tree bast fiber, along with a method for processing the same, the fiber being a natural textile fiber made of bark of trees except for mulberries and paper mulberries. The length of the fiber is 5 mm-65 mm. The fineness of the fiber is 0.3-2.5D. The intensity of the fiber is 0.275-0.582 N/tex. The breaking elongation rate of the fiber is 3%-7%. The method comprises the steps of peeling, sorting, degumming, skimming, drying, preserving, tanning, grinding, carding, baking, boxing and classifying, and packaging. The textile fiber is produced from a resource abundant in nature. The fiber has similar performance to bast fiber, higher intensity than cotton fiber, good dyeing properties, and wide application prospects. It can be blended with other natural fibers, man-made fibers and recycled fibers to form fiber yarn for various purposes. This method changes waste into a commodity, and brings about great economic and social benefits.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International PCT PatentApplication No. PCT/CN2006/000585 with an international filing date ofApr. 3, 2006, designating the United States, now pending, and claimspriority benefits to Chinese Patent Application No. 200510034203.3 filedon Apr. 19, 2005. The contents of the aforementioned specifications areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a textile fiber, and more particularly to atree bast fiber, as well as to a method for processing tree bast.

2. Description of the Related Art

Wood is a natural resource of enormous significance to the survival anddevelopment of human beings. It has a wide range of application fields,and is close to people's daily lives. At present, most applicationsinvolve the utilization of tree lignin thereof, and tree bark is usuallydiscarded in the process. How to make full use of bark, so as to improveutilizing value of the trees and change waste into a commodity, would beof great importance.

Chinese patent number ZL95117638.2 discloses a mulberry fiber, a methodfor producing thereof and some of its applications. As described in thepatent, planting area of mulberries in China is very wide, but anobjective of plating mulberries is to produce mulberry leaves for thesericulture industry instead of providing wood, therefore it isimpossible for the market to provide a large amount of cheap mulberrybarks for producing fiber. Fast-growing forests, pollard and wild bushfor producing paper widely exist on the market, but the bark thereof isalso generally discarded.

Therefore, it is desirable to develop a natural textile fiber made ofbranches, along with bark of fast-growing trees and bushes, which haswide applications and features good textile performance and great marketprospects.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One objective of the invention is to provide tree bast fiber thatfeatures low price, wide applications, abundant source, and higheconomic benefits.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a method for processingtree bast fiber that features a feasible process route and a stableproduct quality.

In one aspect of the invention provided is a tree bast fiber, whereinthe fiber is a natural textile fiber made from tree bark. The length ofthe fiber is 5 mm-65 mm. The fineness of the fiber is 0.3-2.5 D. Theintensity of the fiber is 0.275-0.582 N/tex. The breaking elongationrate of the fiber is 3%-7%. The tree bark is collected from branches ofperennial trees, fast-growing trees, and bushes.

In other aspects the invention provides a method for processing treebast fiber, comprising the steps of: peeling, sorting, degumming,skimming, drying, preserving, tanning, grinding, carding, baking, boxingand classifying, and packaging. Degumming is achieved using 20-60° C.warm alkaline water with surfactant to immerse for 12-48 hours, andtanning is performed with a tanning agent containing a surfactant, aplant oil, a mineral oil and water.

The invention provides a textile fiber having a cheap price and wideapplications for the textile industry. The fiber has similar performanceto bast fiber, higher intensity than cotton fiber, good dyeingproperties, and wide application prospect. It can be blended with othernatural fibers, manual fibers and reproductive fibers to form fiber yarnfor different purposes. This changes waste into a commodity, and bringsabout great economic and social benefits.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Detailed description will be given below in conjunction withaccompanying drawing and embodiments, but will not constitute anylimitation to the invention.

FIG. 1 is a process flow diagram of one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIG. 1, processing tree bast fiber comprises peeling,skimming, degumming, preserving, cutting, tanning, opening, carding,baking, boxing and classifying, and packaging. Detailed description ofall these steps is as follows.

Peeling: The step of peeling comprises for perennial trees, mechanicallyremoving aged bark on the surface of the bark, separating bast layerfrom trunk; and for branches or bushes growing within one year, directlypeeling the bark manually or with a peeler.

Sorting: The step of peeling comprises sorting and stacking according todimension and type of tree bark.

Degumming: The step of degumming comprises immersing tree bark in 20-60°C. alkaline warm water with an added surfactant for 12-48 hours, so asto isolate pectin component in the fasciculate long fiber. The alkalican be sodium hydroxide at a concentration of 3-12 g/L. The surfactantis selected from various common-used anions, cations and nonionicsurfactants.

Skimming: The step of skimming comprises cleaning impurities of treebast.

Drying: The step of drying comprises drying via a dryer or in a shade.

Preserving: The step of preserving comprises using a humid preservationmethod and an emulsion, so as to improve moisture content, intensity andsoftness of the fiber.

Tanning: The step of tanning comprises processing with a tanning agentcontaining a surfactant, a plant oil, a mineral oil and water. Thesurfactant is selected from various commonly-used anions, cations andnonionic surfactants. Different types of surfactants are preferablyemployed simultaneously to improve the tanning result.

Grinding: The step of grinding comprises mechanically cutting orcrushing the tree bast so as to open the fasciculate fibers.

Carding: The step of carding comprises carding the opened fasciculatefiber several times through a carding machine, so as to separate fibersinto tree bast fiber suitable for spinning.

Baking: The step of baking comprises baking the tree bast fiber.

Boxing and classifying: The step of classifying comprises classifyingtree bast fibers into different grades with the help of an airclassifier.

Packaging: The step of packaging comprises packaging fibers into fiberpackages with fixed weight according to fiber dimensions.

EXAMPLES Example 1

In this example firtrees were used. Aged bark was manually removed fromthe surface of the trees. Tree bark was separated from trunks, payingattention so as to avoid introducing a hard lignified fiber layer withinthe trunk. Tree bark was immersed in a water pool comprising sulfuricacid at a concentration of 12 g/L, and 0.5% by weight of common laundrypowder. The temperature was maintained at 60° C. for 12 hours. Theobtained product was taken out and dried, and then put into ahumidifying bin. Silicon oil-water emulsion was uniformly sprayedthereon, and it was covered and preserved with a canvas for 18 hours.The preserved tree bast fiber was placed into a tanning agent containingLamepon A, JFC, peanut oil, engine oil and water for tanning. The tannedtree bast fiber was cut into pieces with a size of approximately 70 mm.The cut fiber was opened with a commonly-used fiber opener and thencarded 3-5 times through a carding machine. The carded fiber wascollected and put into a dryer for drying. The tree bast fiber wasfinally separated into different dimensions using an air separator. Theperformance of the fiber prepared according to this example is shown inTable 1.

Example 2

In this example ficus trees were used. Tree bark was manually separatedfrom trunks. Tree bark was immersed in a water pool comprising sulfuricacid at a concentration of 3 g/L, and 1% by weight of common laundrypowder. The temperature was maintained at 20° C. for 48 hours. Theobtained product was taken out and dried, and then put into ahumidifying bin. Silicon oil-water emulsion was uniformly sprayedthereon, and it was covered and preserved with a canvas for 24 hours.The preserved tree bast fiber was placed into a tanning agent containingLamepon A, JFC, peanut oil, engine oil and water for tanning. The tannedtree bast fiber was cut into pieces with a size of approximately 70 mm.The cut fiber was opened with a commonly-used fiber opener and thencarded 3-5 times through a carding machine. The carded fiber wascollected and put into a dryer for drying. The tree bast fiber wasfinally separated into different dimensions using an air separator. Theperformance of the fiber prepared according to this example is shown inTable 1.

Example 3

In this example nerium indicum mill were used. Tree bark was manuallyseparated from trunks. Tree bark was immersed in a water pool comprisingsulfuric acid at a concentration of 8 g/L, and 1% by weight of commonlaundry powder. The temperature was maintained at 50° C. for 24 hours.The obtained product was taken out and dried, and then put into ahumidifying bin. Silicon oil-water emulsion was uniformly sprayedthereon, and it was covered and preserved with a canvas for 24 hours.The preserved tree bast fiber was placed into a tanning agent containingLamepon A, JFC, peanut oil, engine oil and water for tanning. The tannedtree bast fiber was cut into pieces with a size of approximately 70 mm.The cut fiber was opened with a commonly-used fiber opener and thencarded 3-5 times through a carding machine. The carded fiber wascollected and put into a dryer for drying. The tree bast fiber wasfinally separated into different dimensions using an air separator. Theperformance of the fiber prepared according to this example is shown inTable 1. TABLE 1 Characteristics of tree bast fibers Number Item Example1 Example 2 Example 3 Length (mm)  5 mm-65 mm  5 mm-65 mm  5 mm-65 mmFineness (D) 0.3-2.5 0.3-2.5 0.3-2.5 Intensity (N/tex) 0.275-0.58 0.275-0.58  0.275-0.58  Breaking 3-7 3-7 3-7 elongation rate (%)

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changesand modifications may be made without departing from the invention inits broader aspects, and therefore, the aim in the appended claims is tocover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spiritand scope of the invention.

1. A tree bast fiber, wherein said fiber is a natural textile fiber madefrom tree bark, the length of said fiber is 5 mm-65 mm, the fineness ofsaid fiber is 0.3-2.5 D, the intensity of said fiber is 0.275-0.582N/tex, and the breaking elongation rate of said fiber is 3%-7%.
 2. Thetree bast fiber of claim 1, wherein said tree bark is bark of branchedof perennial trees, fast-growing tree bark, or bush bark.
 3. A tree bastfiber prepared from cotton stalk by a process comprising peeling,skimming, degumming, preserving, cutting, tanning, opening, carding, andbaking.
 4. A method for preparing tree bast fiber, comprising sorting,degumming, skimming, drying, preserving, tanning, grinding, carding, andbaking; wherein degumming is performed by immersing for 12-48 hours in20-60° C. alkaline water with a surfactant, and tanning is performedwith a tanning agent comprising a surfactant, plant oil, mineral oil andwater.